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R. W. Raymond, New Pork City: It seems questionable to me whether Mr. Mezger's identification of the rock-structure he describes, as the Augengneiss of previous authors, is warranted by the definitions given by them. Naumann (1854)t describes Augengneiss as a porphyry-like variety, " which has assumed, by reason of single large kernels or granular concre-

Jan 1, 1896

By K. L. Moazed, G. M. Pound

An investigation was made of the deposition of silver from a thermal beam onto tungsten field-emitter tips at 300°K. "Island"-type nuclei were observed to form and grow. The nucleation of silver crystals occurs preferentially on non-close -packed planes of a tungsten tip at a critical volume free-energy change of about —2900 cal per cc. The adatom population which is critical for appreciable nucleation rate of silver crystals is about 0.2 of a monolayer and is essentially independent of beam flux, time, and source temperature. This result is strong evidence that a metastable equilibrium exists between adatoms and critical nuclei, as assumed in the present theory. SOME of the more significant studies of nucleation in deposition of metals from vapor beams have been conducted by measuring the thermal beam flux which is critical for appreciable rate of nucleation on a substrate surface held at a given temperature.'2 The observed critical supersaturations may be described in terms of Eq. [7] which was derived3'3a on the model of an adsorption, surface migration, and statistical fluctuation mechanism. However there usually made with a low-power optical microscope, a fairly insensitive method of detection. The object of the present study was to overcome some of these difficulties by measuring the critical supersaturation for condensation of a thermal beam of silver onto a tungsten field-emitter tip. Such a tip may be cleaned by electrically heating it to a high temperature in situ, and the high vacuum obtainable in a field-emission tube (10-10 torr) precludes adsorption of residual gases for convenient periods of time. Furthermore, the degree of cleanliness, the orientation, and the state of imperfection of the tip may be ascertained from the field-emission pattern. Detailed explanations of theoretical considerations and experimental procedures relating to the field-emission microscope may be found in a number of excellent review articles12'13 and thus only a brief description will be given here. The electronic work function of a metal is defined as the energy that an electron needs to escape from the potential field of the solid. By applying a large field between the surface of the solid and a suitable collector, it is possible to free the electrons by the tunnel effect. Fields of approximately 30 million v per cm are needed to produce this effect, and such fields are obtained in practice by using microscopic surfaces of high curvature (tips). Because the work function of a metal is a function of surface orientation, the emission from the various planes is different, and thus it is possible to obtain a representation of the surface in the emission microscope. In general, the work function is higher for the more densely packed planes. Fig. 1 shows a pattern for "clean" tungsten in which the central dark region represents the (110)

Jan 1, 1964

By Eugene Rabinowitch

The Chemistry of Uranium. By Joseph J, Katz and Eugene Rabinowitch. Published by McGraw-Hill, Book Co. of New York, 1951. 609 P. $7.15.--This volume is the first half of a comprehensive treatise on uranium chemistry. It contains a detailed summary of the properties of the element uranium, including its occurrence in nature, extraction from ores, and the physical and chemical properties of uranium metal. Binary compounds of uranium with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and the halogens, among others, receive extensive discussion, including methods of preparation and physical properties such as crystal structure, thermochemistry and volatility. A very large proportion of the material in this volume is based on the results obtained in the laboratories of the Atomic Energy Project, much of it not published before. In addition, all of the open literature has been critically surveyed and integrated with the results of the Atomic Energy Project studies. Principles of Geology. By James Gilluly, Aaron C. Waters and A. O. Woodford. Published by W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco, Calif., 1951.640 P. $5.75.-This book attempts to summarize some of the knowledge that geologists have won from the study of the earth. It covers such subjects as movements of the earth's crust, records of earth movement, stream erosion and deposition, deserts, the ocean and mineral resources of the earth. The authors have concentrated on the analysis of processes that are at work upon and within the earth. rather than to present a catalog of descriptive facts and terms. The development of stratigraphy is also outlined. Pictures, maps, and tables are used to illustrate the major points of each chapter.

Jan 9, 1951

By R. Salter, C. K. Chase

Although Asarco's Silver Bell Unit, 40 miles west of Tucson, Ariz., is known primarily for copper production, molybdenite is also produced as a byproduct in the 8000 tpd flotation mill. The Silver Bell ore comes from two pits approximately two miles apart. Copper mineralization is essentially chalcocite resulting from two to three-fold secondary enrichment in a highly altered zone. A typical porphyry copper deposit, Silver Bell ore is of medium hardness. The ore consists of about one part molybdenum to 65 parts of copper. In the copper concentrate which is the starting point for separate molybdenum recovery, the ratio is also one part molybdenum to 65 of copper. Molybdenum mineralization is primary. Enrichment is not evident but it is notable that the molybdenite is more common in the more siliceous, harder rocks. The actual molybdenite occurs as diversely oriented flakes of fairly constant grain size, mostly in fractures associated with quartz veins. Most of the mineral appears unoxidized; secondary coatings on the molybdenite flakes are fortunately rare. In May 1962 a modified, improved version of the molybdenite circuit was put into operation.

Jan 7, 1964

By James J. Olson, Richard A. Dick

Blasting practices have shown a recent trend toward larger blastholes and larger burdens and spacings, although some operators, after reconsidering the situation have gone back to smaller blasthole sizes. The greater pull-down capabilities of larger drill rigs and the greater bearing strength of large diameter drill bits give penetration rates for large diameter blastholes approaching, and sometimes exceeding, penetration rates for smaller holes. In practically all cases, large diameter holes can be drilled more quickly and cheaply, based on volume of hole, than small diameter holes. The industry's shift to dry blasting agents and slurries, products which perform more dependably and efficiently in larger diameters, gives an additional advantage to larger boreholes.

Jan 3, 1972

By H. Sigurdson, C. H. Moore

Extensive studies have been carried out on electric furnace and blast furnace slags obtained in the winning of iron from its ores. These slags normally consist of elements of the gangue minerals present in the ores, as well as the added flux materials. In consequence, melts of CaO, MgO, Al2O3 and SiO2 can be considered as representing typical slag compositions. When a slag of this composition cools, it usually crystallizes according to predictions possible from an equilibrium diagram of these constituents, providing the melt is not undercooled to form glass. The melt is either viscous or fluid, depending upon the ratio of binary cations to silica, and crystallizes easily or forms a glass for the same reasons. If the melt is not overheated so that carbides of the metal components of the slag are formed and if the composition of the slag is so adjusted that it has a high fluidity, liquid equilibrium is attained and the slag can be held in a liquid state for extended periods of time. Upon tapping, the slag crystallizes into minerals, the type and proportion of which are determined by the melt composition. Since equilibrium is attained, the holding period is not critical. In melts containing a large increment of titanium, however, the normal slag procedures are not applicable. Titanium, as one of the atomic transition elements, is, at elevated temperatures, capable of being reduced to form metalloid compounds much more readily than the refractory oxides present in normal slags. In consequence, an oxide melt containing titanium never reaches equilibrium in a reducing environment, but continues to shift its composition until cooled. If melts of this nature are cooled and samples submitted to metal-lographic and X ray analysis the course of reaction and crystallization in this type of slag can be determined. Preparation of Slag The slags investigated fell into the system CaO-MgO-TiO2-Al2O3-SiO2 and were produced from ilmenite ores reduced by carbon in an electric furnace. Since the equilibrium series1 and the laboratory smelting of ilmenite2 are described in two of the accompanying papers, detailed description of the smelting procedure is not required here. However, certain essentials must be mentioned. Two types of melts were used to produce slags studied in this investigation. The first series of smelts made to determine proper flux addition were produced in a 4 lb Ajax induction furnace. The charge, consisting of ore with the proper flux addition, was heated in a graphite crucible until fluid, held fluid for a sufficient time period to obtain 1-5 pct FeO content, and poured. Because of the small size of the charge only the final sample of these melts could be examined. In the melts made in the 50 lb arc furnace, however, grab samples taken at 10 min. intervals between time of initial melting and final pouring were available for examination. These samples allowed a much clearer picture of the course of reaction and crystallization. amounts of ferrous oxide and reduced titanium compounds is opaque to transmitted light. Therefore, all petro-graphic studies had to be made on polished slag sections. A representative sample of slag was cut or broken, mounted in a thermosetting plastic, ground flat using 400 grit silicon carbide, the coarse scratches removed with 600 grit silicon carbide and polished on billiard cloth using levigated alumina. Rouge was avoided because of the entrainment of the red particles in pores in the slag, causing a possible confusion with some of the mineral phases. In order to prevent sample projection above the plastic surface red bakelite was used to hold the sample, and backed up with clear lucite. In this manner sample labels could be permanently retained in the mounting. The polished samples were examined on a Bausch and Lomb metallograph at magnifications of 250 X, 500 X, 1000 X and 1800 X. The instrument was equipped for examination of specimens under bright field illumination and with crossed nicols. A magenta tint plate to aid in color tone differentiation was also used. Petrology of Slags In order to determine the composition and mineral relatinos of a previously unreported system petrologically, it is essential that the starting composition, reaction temperature and final composition be known. The chemical composition of the ilmenite ore used in these smelts is given in Table 1, and the complete analysis of a typical high titanium, low iron slag is given in Table 2. In the winning of TiO2 from ilmenite by a smelting process it is necessary to produce a slag which will melt at an economically feasible temperature, remain molten as the iron is removed by reduction, be fluid enough to be readily removed from the furnace, contain a high percentage of TiO2 and a low percentage of reduced titanium com-

Jan 1, 1950

By W. H. Geis

THE following pages summarize the causes that led to the suggestion of unit operation of the Paloma field, the organization of committees, preparation of the Paloma Operators Agreement and the reasons for rejection of the plan.

Jan 1, 1942

By Derek C. Shelton

This chapter covers the preparation of specifications for a dry crushing and wet grinding comminution circuit.

Jan 1, 1982

By John Boardman

THE latest metal-mine accident report available for the United States is that of the Bureau of Mines for the calendar year 1919. Quoting from Table 20, p. 53, of that report, we find that there were 468 men killed, 7 permanently totally disabled, 321 permanently partially disabled, 7848 injured seriously (more than 14 days disability), and 23,330 of 1 to 14 days disability. We have no records to show what the average days lost per case of accident is, but the records for the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. show that, leaving out the fatalities and total permanent disabilities, and counting those in which the lost time was one or more days, the actual days lost due to accidents, for the Butte mines and shops for five years, 1917-1921, were as follows: Accident Statistics, Butte Mines and Shops of A. C. M. Co. Rate Shifts Days Lost Year Accidents Total Shifts 10,000 Shifts Days Lost Per Acci-dent 1917 2,661 3,169,720 8.395 26,734 10.05 1918 2,765 3,545,149 7.799 39,199 14.17 1919 1,381 1,853,143 7.452 22,797 16.50 1920 1,376 1,879,410 7.321 20,164 14.65 1921 376 776,461 4.842 8,287 22.03 Total... 8,559 11,223,883 7.625 117,981 13.80 In order to place an economic value. on this loss, we will assume that all the 468 fatalities and the 7 total permanently disabled in the United States were com-pensated for at the rate which applies in the State of Montana, that is, $5000 each, and that the 8169 serious accidents in the United States were compensated for at an average of $70 per case, thus bringing the estimated compensation paid by metal-mining companies in the United States to the enormous total of $2,946,830 for the year 1919. The figure of $70 per case was obtained by dividing the total amount paid by metal-mining companies under Plan No. 1 of the Montana Compensation Law, for the first five years of its operation, by the total number of serious accidents for those years.

Jan 9, 1922

By Edward Sayre

IN shaft sinking for coal mines, the cost item greatly influences the method adopted. This holds true especially when soft material must be traversed. The average life of a coal mine is short. This is clue either to the limited area of the coal basin or to the great expense of maintenance and haulage underground when the entries are extended a considerable distance from the hoisting shaft. Therefore, the engineer in opening a coal mine is confronted with the fact that the cost must be kept within certain bounds else the venture will prove unprofitable. For this reason he may be prohibited from adopting certain safe, but expensive, methods that are used in sinking caissons for foundations, driving transportation tunnels, or other work of permanent construction. A common method of sinking through difficult ground employs the aid of a steel shoe pushed ahead of the shaft timbers. Another is the drop-shaft method. These two methods were used in sinking the main shaft and the air shaft of the Eagle No. 3 mine, at Des Moines, Ia., and the following data show the relative success and cost of the two methods of sinking under the same conditions. A drill log of the material to be penetrated was as follows (see Plate 1, Fig. .1)

Jan 9, 1916

By R. W. Smith

Many industries such as the cement industry handle large quantities of limestone and clay slurries. However, at present very little is known about the flow properties, such as friction loss due to flow of slurries in pipelines. This lack of knowledge has made it often very difficult to calculate the total dynamic head of a proposed slurry handling system, and therefore has often made the selection of correct size slurry handling equipment difficult. Because of lack of knowledge about slurry flow a study of slurry flow theory has been made at the Portland Cement Association's Research and Development Laboratory with the idea of developing a method whereby friction losses due to slurry flow may be predicted for any size pipeline. The flow equations developed have been checked by pilot plant size equipment. DERIVATION OF FLOW EQUATIONS It has been known for some time that limestone and clay slurries handled in cement plants do not flow in the same manner as a Newtonian fluid such as water. When a Newtonian fluid flows the shear stress at any flow velocity is proportional to the rate of shear. This phenomenon can be illustrated by a line (Figure 1). The viscosity of the fluid is the slope of the curve. Thus, the flow properties of the material may be characterized by a single materials constant: viscosity. When a non-Newtonian fluid with the type of characteristics exhibited by limestone and clay slurr-ries flow, a similar curve can be constructed (Figure 2). This graph is a shear diagram of a Bingham plastic non-Newtonian fluid. It should be noted that with the Bingham(1) plastic type of flow viscosity, the slope of the curve, is still an important materials constant. In addition, however, there is another materials constant, namely the yield stress of the material. One way to visualize this constant is to consider it as the amount of energy that must be put into a Bingham plastic material to start it flowing.

Jan 1, 1961

One of the best known of the early mining districts of Nevada was that at Eureka, where gold was first produced in 1864. While the most productive period for the district was during the early 1900s, production was maintained until World War II. During this time it is said that the Eureka district produced as much as $200 million from over 3,200 km (2,000 miles) of tunnels and workings. The Windfall Mine was discovered in 1902; and a 100 ton cyanide plant was operated there during the periods 1907 to 1912 and 1932 to 1940. Since 1974, however, Windfall Venture has been operating a unique heap leaching facility on the site of the old Windfall Mine. Gold at the Windfall occurs primarily in the Cambrian Hamburg dolomite which has been "sanded" and in which the original cementing material has been destroyed. The gold is micron sized and is accompanied by anomalous amounts of arsenic and mercury; however, the ore is low in base metals which distinguishes it from the typical Eureka district ores. Mining the ore causes it to break down into very fine sizes, approximately 50% minus 150 microns (100 mesh). Conventional heap leaching by spraying proved to be impossible; and extensive test work on alternate methods, aided by the United States Bureau of Mines, was conducted using 9 m (30 ft) high columns and then large tonnage heaps. The leaching procedure adopted was to build 10.6 m (35 ft) high heaps on a 50 mm (2 in.) asphalt pad covered with a layer of gravel for drainage assisted by perforated pipe drains and gravel-packed sumps. A berm is constructed around the top of each pad and cyanide solution is allowed to “pond” on top of the heap. The resulting percolation is at the rate of 24 liters per sq m per hr (0.6 gal per sq ft per hr), a figure about 2.4 times the average used in other heap leaching operations. The dolomite furnishes its own protective alkalinity and no lime or caustic is used in the solution which contains 0.4 kg per mt (0.8 lb per st) of NaCN. Pregnant solution from the heaps averages about 0.7 g Au per mt (0.02 oz per st) with a cyanide content of about 0. 2 kg per mt (0.4 lb per st) and a pH of plus 9. Addition of NaCN brings the pH of the leach solution up to 11 to 12. Carbon adsorption of the gold was originally done in six enclosed columns mounted in a trailer but five conventional columns have been substituted as the size of the operations has increased. Carbon stripping is with hot caustic, cyanide and 10% ethanol solution. The

Jan 1, 1981

PURPOSE OF STUDY The case study was initiated because of the very real need to provide the best mineral inventory block estimates possible for the relatively new Sacaton mine. Sufficient mining had been done and records kept whereby it was possible to test the various estimation methods against detailed blasthole samples taken during mining. Three estimation methods were selected for testing: (1) the polygonal method, (2) the inverse distance squared method (IDS), and (3) the geostatistical kriging method. The results of the comparative analysis was thought to have very practical application to the selection of extension functions for future estimation of grade for mineral inventory blocks. GENERAL GEOLOGIC DESCRIPTION The porphyry copper deposit of the Sacaton open pit mine is related to small quartz monzonite intrusives of Laramide age which have been intruded into Precambrian granites. Both rock types act as host for the mineralization, which has been secondarily enriched sufficiently to constitute ore. The chalcocite enriched zone has been subjected to postenrichment oxidation processes with consequent partial destruction of the chalcocite blanket. Several mineralogical populations are represented in the total ore zone, but the blocks on the mine benches involved in the study were restricted to the top of the enriched zone. COMPUTATION OF MINERAL INVENTORY BLOCK ESTIMATES In order to make valid comparisons among the three estimation techniques, all of the inventories were prepared from diamond drill assay data used in the original engineering feasibility study. The data was taken from ex-

Jan 1, 1980

By M. M. Fine

In a laboratory study of grinding and classification of silica sand, a satisfactory means of producing the medium-fine specification sand desired by producers of flint-glass containers was developed. The best procedure consisted of ball-mill grinding and double classification, which gave a properly sized sand containing less iron than the feed.

Jan 3, 1950

By J. R. Thoenen

Six or seven years ago the United States Bureau of Mines started development of instruments for the purpose of accurately measuring the vibrational movement of the earth in the vicinity of quarry blasts. For this work a new type of seismometer has been developed. A number of these have been constructed, the accessory field equipment has been assembled, and approximately 200 field tests of actual quarry, blasts have been made. The results of some of these tests have been published 2/ and others are the subject of two manuscripts now in preparation. So far the attention of the investigation has been centered on ascertaining the characteristics and behavior of the ground vibrations. Occasionally, when opportunity arose, measurements of the vibrations occurring in houses or other structures caused by-quarry blasts were made, but without any attempt at direct correlation or interpretation. During 1936 the National Bureau of Standards conducted some experiments to determine the normal vibrations to which the wells and floors of buildings are subject. Cooperation of the Bureau of Mines was requested in measuring the displace-ment. This afforded an opportunity to study the affect of mechanically induced vibrations end make limited comparison with previous records of vibrations from blasting. This paper deals with the experiments made in cooperation with the Bureau of Standards and includes some comparisons with effects from quarry shots. The results are in the nature of a progress report only, and are not intended to draw definite conclusions. These tests were concerned with the determination of the maximum amplitudes of vibration possible in the floors and walls of a typical dwelling when subjected to commonly experienced vibrations. The dwelling tested was obtained by the National Bureau of Standards. It was a large four-story stucco building, 41 ft. south of the southerly curb of Park Road, in Washington, D.C., which was constructed about 1900 and was supported on overburden. The basement floor elevation was approximately that of the pavement of Park Road, Park Road runs east and west; the front door of the house faced north.

Jan 1, 1937

By S. F. Radtke, J. A. Snyder, R. M. Scriver

An automatic, continuous casting arc furnace employing a nonconsum-able electrode and a direct current arc has been constructed and operated successfully for titanium. A comparison of the properties of arc and induction-melted titanium indicates that where high ductility, formability, and toughness are required, arc-melted metal is preferable. BECAUSE of the reactivity of titanium metal with all known refractories and the common atmospheric gases, melting of the metal presents numerous problems. It is necessary to provide an inert atmosphere in the furnace as well as a crucible material that will not react with the molten metal, if a ductile ingot is to be produced. Two special furnaces have been developed that meet the requirements and one, the induction heated graphite furnace, has been described in some detail.' Little information is available for sizable units wherein power is applied to the melt through an arc, and the dearth of technical information on such a furnace prompted this report. It has been demonstrated clearly that arc melting produces titanium metal with superior toughness, ductility, and formability. To produce titanium ingots with these properties, an automatic, continuous casting arc furnace has been developed and is described herein. The history of arc melting may be traced to 1800, when Sir Humphrey Davy2 first experimented with Volta's electric battery and found that light could be produced and an arc formed between two carbon points attached to the cell. The discovery of the arc was followed by the design and construction of an arc furnace by Napier," in 1845, for the reduction of metal oxides. In 1853, Pichou' described a similar furnace, although it was not until the discovery of the dynamo in 1867 that the arc furnace could achieve commercial significance. In 1878, Siemens- esigned the first arc furnace intended for the melting of metals and by 1882 had melted steel and platinum successfully. . This was followed by Moissan's" classical work with the arc furnace in 1892. W. von Bolton,' in 1905, found that the arc furnace was suited admirably for melting refractory metals. In his work with tantalum, no suitable refractories for retaining the molten metal were found to exist. Together with Otto Simpson, he developed an arc furnace with a water-cooled copper crucible in which tantalum could be melted without contamination. This technique proved eminently successful. In his paper on the preparation of ductile titanium, Krolle first described an application of the von Bolton furnace to the melting of this metal. The

Jan 1, 1952

By Will Mitchell

There are in this country some 20 or 30 societies for engineers and engineering scientists. Most of these organizations are autonomous, and there is little or no cooperation among them. Many do not touch the lives of our Institute members. However, during the course of the years several societies closely associated with the AIME have banded together to handle specific situations where cooperation was necessary. It is believed by many engineers that the functions of these cooperative societies should be analyzed and a plan set up to unify the engineering profession into an organization similar to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. The preliminary study of the AIME Committee for Inter-Engineering Society Cooperation has indicated that the following organizations bear upon the professional lives of our members. Some of these are federated groups, such as EJC and ECPD; others are individual-member participation groups, such as the Founder Societies and NSPE.

Jan 10, 1960

By R. L. Wilcox, M. L. Fuller

Most commercial alloys undergo changes in phase composition after casting. This is a natural result of the fact that the alloys are not in a state of phase equilibrium as cast and phase changes will therefore take place, with more or less rapidity, in an attempt to attain equilibrium. The practical aspect of aging in zinc-Alloy die castings concerns the changes in physical properties and in dimensions that may accompany aging phase changes. Harmful alterations have been reduced to a minimum and zinc-alloy die castings are being produced today that are so stable with respect to dimensions and physical properties that they are entirely suitable for most practical purposes1. In the first paper2 of this series, and in this paper, aging phase changes of zinc-alloy die castings have been investigated and the possible influence of these changes on dimensional changes of the castings has been evaluated and compared with the dimensional changes actually experienced. The change of dimensions has been selected for practical comparison in these papers because the effect of phase changes on the dimensions of a casting is directly calculable from X-ray crystal-analysis data of the phase structure. The die-casting alloys considered contain, in addition to zinc, 4 per cent of aluminum, about 0.03 per cent magnesium, and from 0 to 3 per cent of copper. It was shown in the former paper that the eutectoidal decomposition of the beta aluminum-zinc phase, while intrinsically capable of causing a considerable shrinkage, can have very little effect on the observed shrinkage of die castings because it takes place within a few days of aging, whereas the observed shrinkage continues for five weeks. It was therefore concluded that the other existing phase change, namely, the segregation of secondary phase from the zinc-base solid solution, must account for the major portion of the shrinkage.

Jan 1, 1936

By Robert L. Llewellyn

Preparation of coal begins at the face in underground mines or in the pit with surface mines. Impurities in raw coal can be in the seam itself or in extraneous material taken in mining from the roof or bottom. Raw coal is prepared only to the extent that is necessary to make the product salable. Over 60% of all coal production is processed to some extent in cleaning plants. For underground mines the proportion cleaned is 72% as compared to 42% from surface and 15% from auger mines. Coal supplied for coking purposes is nearly all upgraded by washing, while for the largest market, electric power generation, a high proportion is shipped as a raw product with processing, in whole or in part, only as necessary when excess impurities are mined with the coal. This chapter will deal primarily with plants that process or wash coal to some extent and only incidently with mines shipping raw run-of-mine coal crushed to a top size of, usually, 2 to 4 in., with little, if any, other treatment. ECONOMICS OF COAL PREPARATION During the past decade, major changes have occurred affecting the market, profit, and long-rang planning of the coal industry. Mining companies have become "partners" with consumers at many new and some old mines, both for steam and metallurgical coals. Coal properties have become "assigned" tonnages at mutually agreed upon conditions and prices. Lower unit-train tariffs have been instrumental in helping coal markets to compete against oil and atomic energy. Cod prices for power plants are still on a Btu (British thermal unit) basis but with more emphasis on sulfur content. For metallurgical coal, the lower and medium volatile coals are in demand and the price rises, generally, as the volatile percentage is lower. Moisture affects the Btu value of coal almost the same as ash content, but dusty conditions during loading and unloading are no longer accept-

Jan 1, 1973

By Robert D. Pehlke, Robert G. Blossey

The solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron alloys containing chromium and nickel has been measured in the temperature range 1550° to 1700°C at nitrogen pressures to 1 ah. The solubility surface has been determined for the iron corner of the liquid metallic ternary to 21 pct Cr and 11 pct Ni. The nitrogen solubility increases markedly with increasing chromium concentration. The effect of nickel and the bilinear effect of chromium and nickel are less pronounced. The solubility data are presented, and interaction coefficients are determined from them. THE solubility of nitrogen has been determined in liquid Fe-Cr-Ni binary and ternary alloys. The work in this laboratory has been directed toward a relatively limited composition range, that is to 20 pct Cr and 10 pct Ni. Humbert and Elliott1 studied the entire ternary; but their investigation was, understandably, limited in this region. The region considered here is of the greatest commercial interest. Knowledge of the solubility in these alloys is important for accurate control of the nitrogen levels in various stainless alloys. Also, the solution behavior is of theoretical interest because of its deviations from ideal dilute solution rules at moderate chromium levels. The nitrogen solubility in the iron binaries has been reviewed extensively by Pehlke and Elliott,2 particularly with respect to the dilute solution interaction parameters. More recently, there has been some interest in accurate descriptions of solute interactions in non-dilute solutions. Most of the investigators have adopted a power series fit to accommodate any non-linearity of the data. The Taylor series expansion is adopted here, using Scimar's notation3 for the interaction coefficients. An alternate method, instead of requiring higher-order expansions, is to restrict the range of the composition variables. A planar solubility surface may be fitted to the data and its range of validity determined. If the axes of this region are displaced from the usual origin—the solvent pure iron—a change in standard state is required for the solution reaction. The standard state for nitrogen in iron is commonly taken as the hypothetical 1 wt pct solution of nitrogen in pure iron. However, for an alloy of appreciable solute concentration, e.g., 13 pct Cr or 18 pct Cr-8 pct Ni, it would be convenient to use that base composition as the solvent and redefine the solution reaction in terms of that particular solvent. A brief derivation follows, defining the free energy of solution in an alloy solvent. Following the treatment by Darken and Gurry,4 for a nitrogen pressure of 1 atm: N (pure component) = N (1 wt pct in solvent) [l] AG=RT ln100/ wt pct N in solvent Taking this reaction for an alloy solvent less the same reaction for a pure iron solvent the relation between nitrogen in pure iron and an alloy is: N (1 wt pct in Fe) = N (1 wt pct in alloy) [2] AG = RT[ln(wt pct N in Fe) - ln(wt pct N in alloy)] Adding ½ N2(g) to each side and subtracting N (1 wt pct in Fe) = ½N2(g), the total free energy for solution of nitrogen in an alloy, referred to nitrogen at infinite dilution, is given by: ½N2 (g) = N (wt pct in alloy) L3] AG°3 = -RT ln(wt pct N in alloy )PN =1 atm Interaction parameters have their usual meaning when ?G°/RT is differentiated with respect to the proper composition coordinate. If desired, the dilute alloy treatment may be utilized with the new reference composition as the solvent. This has. indeed, been done by Small and pehlke5 in their analysis of nitrogen solution in liquid 18-8 alloys. The Sieverts' technique was used for this investigation on an apparatus previously described.6 The materials used in this program were: Ferrovac-E iron, 99.95 pct, Crucible Steel Co.: chromium, 99.95 pct, Union Carbide Metals Co.; nickel, 99.9 pct, International Nickel Co. Recrystallized alumina crucibles were used with no evidence of crucible-melt reaction. RESULTS The locations of the ternary compositions investigated are shown in Fig. 1. The data of Turnock7 and small8 have been alluded to in other papers.5'6 There were no departures from Sieverts' law observed for

Jan 1, 1969